Minor setback for Northfield climbers

Morehill resident Burns Maclear (67), who initiated the Nine Peaks for Northfield (Northfield Methodist Church) fund-raiser last year, said he and his five long-time friends were unable to summit Seweweekspoort, in the Western Cape, at the end of February.

The six men embarked on the climb despite advice not to from the farmer on whose land the mountain is situated, because of poor weather conditions.

The climbers made a call at 12.15pm, on February 22, to abandon their climb in the Western Cape — 275m from the summit.

“Will we go up and get back down before dark?” was the question Maclear, fellow Morehill resident Koos Bouwer, and the four other men had to ask themselves.

“We took the decision to go down because we were not equipped to stay overnight and it was cold up there,” Maclear said, explaining that it would have taken two to two and a half hours to summit, and a further eight hours to return to the foot of the mountain.

A large contributor to the failed attempt was the men getting lost en route to the summit, which diverted them through thick grass and fynbos.

Maclear said they took a knock from the unsuccessful attempt, but were spurred on by the Northfield Methodist Church congregation.

“We were down, we were so down,” he added.

“We accept it now and we were humbled.”

The climbers have committed to climbing Seweweekspoort before May, before snowfalls strike the mountain — this time with a guide.

The group are also set to summit the following points:

Eastern Cape, KwaDuma, March 19 to 23, 3 019m

Free State, Namahadi, April 17 to 20, 3 275m

KwaZulu-Natal, Mafadi, May 14 to 18, 3 451m

The public is asked to get involved by pledging a minimum of one cent for each metre summitted at the end of all the climbs.

By the end of the journey, the group will have climbed a total height of 22 401m.

To donate to this cause, contact Leoni, at the Northfield Methodist Church office, on 010 140 0210.